History

The City of Christchurch was founded in 1848. The usual Maori name for Christchurch is Ōtautahi ("the place of Tautahi."). John Robert Godley suggested the Anglicised name due to his time at Christ Church, Oxford, in England. Archeological evidence found in a cave at Redcliffs in 1876 has indicated that the Christchurch area was first settled by moa-hunting tribes about 1250. Māori oral history relates that humans occupied the area around the year 1000.

In 1840 the Weller brothers purchased land at Putaringamotu (now modern Riccarton) Their abandoned holdings were taken over by the Deans brothers in 1843, the family becoming prominent Canterbury residents. Christchurch is proud of its heritage from the pioneers who arrived in what are still known as the First Four Ships. These vessels were chartered by the Canterbury Association and arrived on 16 December 1850, bringing the first 792 of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton Harbour. These sailing vessels were the Randolph, Charlotte-Jane, Sir George Seymour, and Cressy. The Canterbury Pilgrims had aspirations of building a city around a cathedral and college, on the model of Christ Church in Oxford. The name "Christ Church" was decided prior to the ships' arrival, at the association's first meeting, on 27 March 1848. The Anglican cathedral was completed in 1904 and has since been the focal point of the city. The Lyttelton Road Tunnel linking Lyttelton and Christchurch was opened in 1964 and Christchurch hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1974.

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